The West can no longer simply extol the virtues of democracy by contrasting it with the horrors of totalitarianism. Now certain governments are exporting democracy by brute force, and a reactionary strand in mainstream political opinion is willing to abandon civil liberties and destroy collective values of equality. Ranciere explains how democracy - government by all - is the principle that de-legitimates any form of power based on the superiority of those who govern. Hence the fear, and consequently the hatred, of democracy amongst the new ruling class. "Hatred of Democracy" rediscovers the ever-new and subversive power of the democratic idea - and the opposition to it by Western rulers.

Author Biography

Jacques Ranciere is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris-VIII. His books include On the Shores of Politics, Short Voyages to the Land of the People, and The Nights of Labour.